Fighting

Nostalgia isn't something that you can feel unless enough time passes, and now that I am a bit older, I can feel nostalgia creeping up on me. It seems that others are aware of the creeping as well, because lately, I can't help but find all sorts artifacts from my childhood suddenly showing up for sale. Transformers are back; He-Man is back; and even Scooby Doo is back. With regards to Scooby, I actually had a terrible suspicion that it would be a bad movie even before watching. However, for the sake of nostalgia, I was willing to give it a chance. Sadly, not only were my suspicions confirmed, I was also denied a trip down memory lane. The main characters resembled more like caricatures out of popular teen movies instead of what I remembered from the original cartoon. I understand that an update of sorts might be necessary, but by changing the characters, the essence of the original cartoon was lost, along with any nostalgia I might have felt for it.

While I didn't grow up in a culture like Ryo's (or Gene's), I have lived in places with many similarities. I can definitely relate to elements in the game that are signatures of non-Western cultures, and appreciate their genuineness. Gene's comment stating "This is a foreign game with foreign concepts" has legitimacy and weight, and it would be wise to keep this in mind before entering the world of Shenmue II.

I grew up in a collectivist society, which stresses community effort and family over the dog-eat-dog individualist philosophy. Both terms are extremely generalized and say little about each culture, but there are subtle things that are the key in determining which is which. I never had much use for directions or street names. Growing up on the small island of Guam, directions were given by indicating landmarks of everyday things, like a tree, blue trimmings on a house or strange looking stones. We had street names, just like they do in Shenmue and its Xbox sequel, but apparently the entire community found that they were more of an inconvenience.

Game Description: Shenmue II is an epic adventure with all the elements of a great movie—drama, mystery, suspense, and action—and offers a unique gameplay experience that seamlessly blends elements of action, adventure, fighting, and role-playing games. In Shenmue II, players assume the role of Ryo Hazuki, a young man dedicated to the task of tracking his father's murderer and unlocking the mysteries of the Phoenix Mirror. Shenmue II continues where Shenmue left off and brings Ryo to Hong Kong with many questions still unanswered as he follows the trail of Lan Di, the man who killed his father.

Game Description:Deathrow pits two teams in a no-limits, no-honor, total-aggression arena battle. In Deathrow, there are no rules and full-contact aggression is not only legal, it is required! The fastest, toughest players are victorious and the slow and weak are defeated. The game combines the lightning-fast gameplay of third-person action games with the cooperative team play and gritty roughness of rugby, offering a unique combat sport experience.

Deathrow graces the Xbox without much media hype or word of mouth, but its a game that should definitely create a buzz in the gaming community. It doesnt have a million-dollar ad campaign or an established franchise to move it off shelves, but it has a unique concept, polished graphics and sound, lots of options, and deceptively simple gameplay that is sure to challenge even the most seasoned gamer.

I was looking forward to this particular title for two reasons: it would be exciting to see my favorite SNK characters rendered with more powerful hardware and, seeing as SNK has filed for bankruptcy, Capcom Versus SNK could be the last game featuring SNK characters. As an SNK nut, I needed to get this game.

As a game, Buffy The Vampire Slayer is incredibly faithful to the show it is based on. The sarcastic humor, tone, and atmosphere of the program are all faithfully recreated. The original castwith the exception of Sarah Michelle Gellar (who plays Buffy)has provided their voices for the game, giving the title the feel of the show.

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